Dress at meetings

[Steve Muhlberger]

Just another foreigner chiming in.

In all the groups I have been active in over the years, there has been a 
distinction between a meeting and an event.  At meetings, lots of things were 
discussed and done that would seem out of place at a tournament, feast, or 
revel.  (Even discussing the Middle Ages as they actually were, from an 
outsider's perspective, is a very OOP activity at an event!)

However, I have been in groups that were pretty isolated, in which most of 
the newer members had little opportunity to go to a real event (and the group 
was yet to small to sponser many events).  In one of these, we did have 
meetings once a month or so where people did dress medievally, were in 
persona, and did something both educational and "in period" (discussing the 
Courtier a la Castiglione).  (In that group the organizational 
meetings/workshops/etc. were weekly).

One problem with such things popped up in my vicinity.  A local group had one 
of these intermediate type events in a university complex that included 
their usual winter fighting practice site, meeting room, etc.  After a day of 
low key activities, they adjourned to the student pub in the same complex to 
eat, drink, and continue on.  Since it was Sunday, the place was otherwise 
deserted.  However, there were things like TVs present, and when the TV was 
turned on by someone, it revealed a basic disagreement as to how formal an 
"event" this was supposed to be.

Finnvarr de Taahe
Principality of Ealdormere
Middle Kingdom